Japan Airlines (JAL) President Mitsuko Tottori will take a 30% pay cut for two months after two cabin crew members violated the airline's preflight alcohol policy and attempted to conceal their actions, the carrier said, as Japanese authorities ordered corrective measures.

The disciplinary action follows an incident on May 23 involving a chief flight attendant and another crew member during an overnight layover in Hiroshima.

According to JAL, the airline requires crew members to refrain from consuming alcohol for 12 hours before a flight, which meant both employees should have stopped drinking by 6:30 p.m. local time.

However, the chief flight attendant continued drinking beyond the permitted period, consuming two beers and two small glasses of white wine before returning to her hotel room.

The following morning, she failed to properly report the results of a mandatory alcohol test before heading to the airport. A second test conducted at the airport still showed alcohol levels exceeding the airline's limits, forcing her removal from duty.

The incident delayed the flight's departure by about 40 minutes.

Tottori, who became the first woman to lead Japan Airlines after her appointment in 2024 and formerly worked as a cabin attendant, said the pay reduction reflected management's responsibility for the lapse.

The airline said the executive pay cut was intended to acknowledge that the incident pointed to shortcomings in internal oversight rather than an isolated case of employee misconduct.

Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism formally reprimanded the carrier and ordered it to submit a report detailing preventive measures by July 17, citing concerns about the airline's safety management system.

Japan Airlines has previously disciplined pilots for alcohol-related violations and has maintained a zero-tolerance policy on preflight drinking. The latest case involving cabin crew suggests enforcement challenges persist beyond the cockpit.

Source: Aeroxplorer